Entertainment

The 2015 Formula 1® Rolex Australian Grand Prix will showcase a world of off-track entertainment with an array of activities to suit fans of all ages. Our entertainment schedule is now live and features some old favourites and some fabulous new off-track diversions.

General Admission

Melbourne’s spectacular Albert Park street circuit is the perfect setting for the opening round of the 2015 FIA Formula One World Championship™ season. Get your first look at the new V6 Turbo power unit in action and see how they perform under the new regulations.

James Boag's Premium Zone Upgrade

Upgrade your existing General Admission or Grandstand ticket to access the James Boag's Premium Zone. This is the perfect place to upgrade your Grand Prix experience and enjoy a more comfortable and social environment.

GA + James Boag's Premium Zone Package

These packages include a General Admission ticket as well as access to the James Boag's Premium Zone. With a range of single day, or multi-day packaged options the James Boag's Premium Zone is the perfect place to kick back and enjoy the race.

4-day Grandstand

4-corner Grandstands

The 4 Corner Grandstand ticket option provides an opportunity to experience 4 different stand locations across the 4 days of the event. Watch the action from unique vantage points in a different grandstand each day.

Inside Formula 1®

When the dust settled: How your team fared – Sunday

RED BULL

Result:

Vettel P2, Webber P4

Report:

After a poor qualifying on Saturday both drivers produced a positive reaction with the defending double world champion Vettel forcing his way through to finish on the podium in second place. He had some luck when he survived one early run off across the grass and then saw fellow-German Michael Schumacher forced to retire his Mercedes before a timely Safety Car assisted him in passing Lewis Hamilton's McLaren. Webber suffered a first-corner sandwich, fell down the order and then fought back to claim his best career finish at Albert Park in fourth place.

Reaction:

"It was a positive race for us, one we knew would be a difficult one - so to come second with a lot of points is important. I think we proved we are in a better condition than everyone expected. The car has a lot of potential. I would have loved to be in a better position yesterday, but now we need to address our problems and make sure we give them a harder time next week." - Vettel

MERCEDES

Result:

Rosberg P12, Schumacher DNF

Report:

After a strong showing early in the weekend led by Schumacher claiming his best grid position since coming out of retirement, the race was a disappointment. Schumacher ran strongly behind the front-running McLarens in the opening laps, but retired after only four laps when his car suffered total loss of drive. Rosberg struggled to stamp any authority on the race and fell away due to tyre degradation before finishing 12th.

Reaction:

"After a very encouraging weekend, today was not a good result for us. Despite excellent starts, both Michael and Nico had difficulties from the start of the race with their tyres. With the development of the circuit and the track temperatures, we fell out of the working window, and struggled with degradation. We remain positive as both here and over the winter tests, we have demonstrated that we have a fundamentally quick car and we have a lot to build on so we need to look at what happened and unravel the problem and work out where we need to improve." - Ross Brawn

WILLIAMS

Result:

Maldonado P13, Senna P16

Report:

The rebuilt Woking team were desperately unlucky not to have something to celebrate in this opening race after a winter of upheaval and changes. Maldonado drove with great control and looked set to score his best finish in sixth place when he crashed heavily on the last lap, losing the back end of the car. Senna was involved in a tangle at the opening corner and then collided with Massa's Ferrari before retiring.

Reaction:

"It was a very fast moment, but I just lost the back of the car and hit the wall - that's it. I had already accepted finishing behind Alonso because I tried to pass into Turn 3 and it didn't work. I think Alonso was slowing down, his pace was not so strong, so maybe I got too close to him and that's why I lost the back. It wasn't a concentration thing - I was pushing as normal, looking after the tyres and maybe I just got too close. I said nothing on the radio, I was so angry. We are a bit disappointed, but that's racing." - Maldonado

MARUSSIA

Result:

Glock P14, Pic P15

Report:

After a messy start to the season, a failed crash test and no testing, this was a small triumph for the low-budget former Virgin team. Both men ran the full race without any major problems and brought their cars home, albeit after being lapped. It was a satisfying way to celebrate Glock's 30th birthday.

Reaction:

"A great race for the team and a huge reward for all the hard work and pressure over the last few months. It's important to remember that we came here with no real running with the new car. Add the potential for reliability problems - because they always happen with every team in pre-season testing - and it has been quite a special weekend to get the car home in the first race with no issues." - Glock

McLaren

Result:

Jenson Button P1, Lewis Hamilton P3

Report:

Button took his third win in Australia in the last four years, making Albert Park the circuit where he’s had more of his 13 career wins than any other. The 2009 world champion stormed past teammate Hamilton on the run to Turn 1 at the start and was rarely troubled thereafter, and showed he had speed to burn when he pulled out a 2.5-second lead on the first lap after the safety car went in on lap 42. Hamilton was downcast after dropping behind Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel in the safety car period, and barely held off Vettel’s teammate Mark Webber to claim the final podium slot.

Reaction:

‘All in all I’m happy with the car. There were a few areas where it could have been a little bit better, but I think we did a pretty damn good job this weekend.” - Button

Lotus

Result:

Kimi Raikkonen P7, Roman Grosjean DNF (accident, lap 2)

Report:

After Saturday was Grosjean’s time to shine in his first Albert Park outing, it was Raikkonen who scored Lotus’ first points of the season after showing consistent pace from 17th on the grid. The Finn benefitted from the last lap, where Pastor Maldonado (Williams) and Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) both saw their points-scoring hopes go up in smoke. Grosjean made a cautious start from third on the grid, dropped to sixth after the first lap, and then was out on lap two after clashing with Maldonado at Turn 13.

Reaction:

“The weekend was far from ideal, but the car feels good. To come back to seventh means we at least come away with some points.” – Raikkonen

Toro Rosso

Result:

Daniel Ricciardo P9, Jean-Eric Vergne P11

Report:

With a lap to go, it looked as if the Frenchman was more likely to score Toro Rosso’s first points of the season, but Ricciardo made the most of a wide moment by his teammate with three corners to go to sneak through to score in his first race at home. Vergne’s race was relatively uneventful compared to that of his teammate: Ricciardo was last after lap one when he clashed with Bruno Senna’s Williams at the first corner before battling his way back to the points with some help from the mid-race safety car.

Reaction:

“I don’t really know how that happened on the last lap – I was sure I could make up at least one place because it was chaos. I was a bit lucky to be the last one in that group because I could have a clear picture of the other cars going off in front. The last few laps were crazy, and I was pushing like hell.” – Ricciardo

HRT

Result:

De La Rosa, Karthikeyan did not start

Report:

For the second year in succession, the Spanish strugglers came to Melbourne with every intention of starting the season – and left without turning a wheel on Sunday after failing to make the 107 per cent cut-off in qualifying. A lack of pre-season testing, power steering issues and a failing DRS gave the third-year squad plenty to work on ahead of next weekend’s second race of the season in Malaysia.

Reaction:

“I think it’s going to be damn hard in Malaysia. It's going to be a lot hotter and we have cooling problems already. We don't want to bullshit ourselves; it's going to be very difficult.” – Narain Karthikeyan

Ferrari

Result:

Alonso P5, Massa dnf

Report:

Alonso shrugged off his qualifying debacle to be 8th by the end of the opening lap. In the early stages he duked it out with Rosberg and Webber before pitting after 13 laps and again on 34. Though never a serious podium contender he took heart from a top-five finish to a trying weekend. Massa, meanwhile, made his trademark excellent start, then worked hard to edge his car up to the top 10, but tyre degradation and poor balance did nothing to help his cause. He did himself few favours when he lost what would only have been a 13th place in a clash with Senna’s Williams just 11 laps from the finish that inflicted terminal damage to the #6 car.

Reaction:

“As for the positive points to come out of today, they would be the start, the pit stops and the strategy. However, we still have a lot of work to do…” – Alonso; “This has been a really poor weekend for me.” -- Massa

Force India

Result:

Di Resta P10, Hulkenberg dnf

Report:

It took him till the last corner of the last lap but Di Resta rescued a point with his strong sprint to the line, but throughout the race he had struggled to maintain consistent pace through each stint. Saving a dose of KERS for that last corner was the key to catching Vergne’s Toro Rosso. No such luck for the Hulk: the early mayhem sidelined him without completing a lap – the same fate he suffered on his first visit here back in 2010. He was hit from behind and left rear suspension damage was the result.

Reaction:

“We have to take this on the chin because it’s part of racing, but it’s disappointing for Nico who needs all the race miles he can get at the moment.” – Deputy team principal Robert Fernley

Sauber

Result:

Kobayashi P6, Perez P8

Report:

It looked unlikely after qualifying, but Sauber repeated their outstanding performance of last year with both cars in the top 10 – only this time it counted. Perez had to start from the back after incurring a grid penalty for a gearbox change, but as he did in 2011, he made do with just one pit stop. His was the lead Sauber until the frantic final laps when contact with Rosberg compromised him. Kobayashi’s race on a two-stopper nearly ended on the opening lap when Senna spun in front of him, meaning the Japanese did the whole race with damage to the rear wing.

Reaction:

“It was a bitter-sweet weekend. Qualifying was disappointing, but in the race we were able to show our true potential. I wonder if we could have done even better today, because we had to compromise a lot on the strategy due to the fact that both drivers were stuck in traffic and couldn’t make best use of the tyres.” – Head of Track Engineering Gianpaolo Dall’Ara.

Caterham

Result:

Kovalainen dnf, Petrov dnf

Report:

Petrov’s was the most visible retirement of the day when he parked the Caterham beside the pit wall on the main straight. A steering-wheel problem was the cause of his demise after 36 laps. The Russian was buoyed by pace that saw him getting in touch with Senna and Massa. His Finnish team-mate ran five laps more before a front track rod problem made the car start pulling left under braking and they pulled him in as a precaution. Earlier he was DRS-less for six laps and also had to switch his KERS off right from the start.

Reaction:

“I’m sure we can fix (the) problems for next week and we have shown today what a step forward we’ve taken, so it’s not bad news, it’s just one of those days.” – Kovalainen; “We definitely showed the sort of pace that can bring rewards this season, so while it’s obviously not how we wanted my first race with the team to go we can take a lot of positives from this.” -- Petrov

AGPC Information

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